1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a fan-motor assembly generating a wind and a refrigerator having the same.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
A refrigerator is a device for keeping food frozen/cooled therein, and includes a refrigerator main body having cooling compartments formed therein and a refrigeration cycle device for maintaining a cooled state in the cooling compartments. In general, a machine room is formed in a rear area of the refrigerator main body, and a compressor and a condenser in the refrigeration cycle device are installed in the machine room.
A cool air flow path is formed inside the refrigerator main body such that air in the cooling compartments can be cooled while flowing, and an evaporator is provided on the cool air flow path to cool air. A fan-motor assembly is provided inside the machine room and at one side of the evaporator to accelerate the flow of air.
The fan-motor assembly includes a fan and a motor, and is a device which generates a wind as the fan is rotated by a rotational force provided from the motor. The fan-motor assembly is used in various technical fields which require wind. For example, the fan-motor assembly may be used in an air conditioner, and the like, as well as the above-described refrigerator.
Since the fan-motor assembly is a device in which some of components rotate, friction between the components may be generated in a rotating process of the fan-motor assembly. If a sufficient balance between the components is not maintained, vibration and noise may be generated.
The friction lowers the mechanical integrity of the fan-motor assembly and the device having the same, and the vibration and noise cause inconvenience in the use of the fan-motor assembly and degradation of the operating performance of the fan-motor assembly. Thus, the friction between the components is reduced, and the sufficient balance between the components is maintained, thereby improving the performance of the fan-motor assembly.
As the capacity of the refrigerator increases, the flow rate of wind required in the fan-motor assembly continuously increases, and hence the rotational frequency of the fan increases. Therefore, it is more likely that vibration and noise will be generated in the fan-motor assembly. Particularly, as customers' requirements of noise reduction increase, it has recently been required to develop a low-vibration, low-noise fan-motor assembly.